Collectables

Relics from the dawn of the electro-magnetic telephone created a sensation when they appeared for sale in Massachusetts.

When 2000AD made its debut the year itself was still 23 years away.

Once ubiquitous in British seaside resorts in their day, many pre-war amusement arcade machines are now so rare that just a handful are recorded.

Priced 10 cents when it appeared in 1938, a copy of Action Comics No 1 which introduced Superman has become the world’s most valuable comic book.

The familiar heart symbol - that today is ‘read’ as love - made its first appearance as a rebus in the late Medieval era.

A collection of vintage comics has sold at auction in Lichfield for a total hammer price of £13,150.

“Our selection of Charley’s War artwork continues to attract new winning bidders”, says Malcolm Phillips.

The Militaria auction at Norfolk saleroom TW Gaze on April 18 includes an item linked to Napoleon’s exile on St Helena.

A pair of 19th century Parisian novelty silhouette hand screens, made by François Simon Alphonse Giroux, doubled their estimate at auction.

The only known example of a vintage Perone quart proved again how rare beer cans have become valuable collectors’ items

Thousands of items are available to buy from dealers online. Here we pick out one that caught our eye this week.

In 1926, after two years of negotiations, two German automobile producers joined forces to become Mercedes-Benz.

A private collection comprising the signatures of every one of Britain’s prime ministers sold for £8000 as part of a designated timed online sale of Autographs and Memorabilia.

A French three-colour gold snuff box was a highlight of the silver and vertu section of Lawrences (25% buyer’s premium) of Crewkerne’s recent winter sale.

Amherst Antiques, the Kent-based specialist in Tunbridge Ware, is offering reductions on some of its stock as the owners prepare to retire.

Picture-postcard collecting became a craze in Edwardian times and in the 21st century many of us are delighted collectors of these ‘windows on the world’.